This invention applies generally to the field of devices adapted to spray or coat the inner surfaces of a pipe or other member, primarily for the rehabilitation and/or lining of pipes or other tubular members, wherein a polymer resin or similar uncured polymer material is sprayed onto the interior wall of the pipe, the sprayed material curing to form a layer possessing desirable properties, such as liquid impermeability, elasticity, rigidity, corrosion resistance, etc. The lining material may be applied directly to the pipe wall itself, or successive layers may be applied to create multiple layers. The invention relates to such devices which are spinning assemblies transported along the interior of the pipe, the spinner assembly having a rotating material accelerator that receives and distributes the uncured polymer circumferentially as it moves linearly along the pipe, the spinner assembly being mounted onto a transport unit, either self-propelled or towed. More particularly, the invention relates to a spinner assembly having structures adapted to optimize the distribution of uncured polymer liner material within the spinner assembly so as to optimize the delivery of liner material expelled from the spinner assembly onto the pipe inner wall.
There are currently only a few methods to rehabilitate a pipe system to full structural integrity without excavating and replacing pipe segments. The current methods include Cast-In-Place-Pipe (CIPP) and Spray-In-Place-Pipe (SIPP). In the current SIPP methods, a SIPP spraying apparatus is typically pulled through the pipe by a polymer resin supplying tether, known as the umbilical. The uncured polymer material is supplied from containers or reservoirs located externally to the pipe. The spraying apparatus comprises a spinner member that ejects the lining material onto the inner diameter of the pipe, effectively creating a new pipe with a known thickness and structural properties inside the pre-existing pipe once the polymer liner material cures.
It is an objective of this invention is to provide an improved spinner assembly adapted for use within a spraying apparatus, device or assembly, the spinner assembly having an improved structure and process to optimize the distribution of liner material within the spinner assembly so as to optimize the distribution of the liner material expelled from the spraying apparatus onto the interior wall of the pipe.